Tarun is taking his first out of the country vacation (excluding Mexico) since college!  He will be out of the office from 9/15-9/26 in Italy.  There will be limited access to email and a 7 hour time difference so, during his trip, Sarah will valiantly put out fires as needed.  If you need something more substantive, Tarun will try his best to respond via email or text.  During his absence, the office will only be closed Friday, September 19th because Sarah will participate in the Forest Park Balloon Glow (come say hi if you make it out).  We appreciate your patience and understanding during the next two weeks.For those wondering, Tarun’s trip starts in Rome for a few short days.  No set plans there other than a few tours and then wandering around, likely indulging in too much gelato and sweets.  Then he is off to Naples and a tour of Pompeii/Mount Vesuvius.  The rest of the trip is along the Amalfi Coast (Ischia & Ravello).  Hopefully he will take lots of pictures and come back fully recharged after a busy year!

We received several calls recently from clients who received various class action notices.To verify the notice is genuine, we recommend googling the litigation to make sure it is a legitimate lawsuit and not a scam.  You can google the law firm name on the notice and call the number on their website (not the postcard) to see if they truly are representing clients for the case.  You can also check the website the notice has on the postcard, which often will have detailed instructions regarding why you received the notice and why there is a pending lawsuit against the defendant.  The website classaction.org also lists known active suits.  The plaintiffs’ attorneys, working to identify all wronged parties, get names of class participants from receipts, warranty registrations or company customer lists.

Once you confirm the notice is legitimate, you can either participate in the lawsuit and join the other plaintiffs (the class members) by following the law firm’s instructions, opt-out and file your own separate lawsuit (not recommended/inefficient) or do nothing and decline to participate.  My advice is to participate by providing the authenticating information requested.  Class action lawsuits are designed to not be cost-effective for an individual to bring because the defendants almost always start with the position they did nothing wrong.  The litigation (and where the attorneys bringing the case on behalf of the class makes their money) is document intensive, which takes time and money.  A lawyer must front hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in expenses and billable hours to find the metaphorical “needle in a haystack.”  Once the case looks plausible, whether through litigation with bellwether cases (one or two cases pursued to a jury trial to see how the case shakes out in front of a jury) or through extensive concessions in discovery, the two sides try to work out a settlement for all class members, which must then be approved by a judge.

While the cases are not worthwhile for an individual, they can be worthwhile when a large group brings their claims jointly.  The catch is you never know what you will get until the case settles but typically it makes sense to take whatever nominal settlement comes from the case.  Fair warning though, litigation can take years so we recommend filling out the forms and then forgetting about it.  I participated in many class action suits as a plaintiff and received checks ranging from $300 to most recently a mere $0.34.  Either way, it is more than $0!

From time to time, clients call and ask which type of cases we handle.  Our practice is built on referrals from satisfied clients.  We know that if we work hard and do a good job for our clients, they will tell their friends about us.  The best compliment from a former client is that client entrusting us with the potential case of their friend or family.  Our office specializes in the following cases:

1. Personal Injury (auto collisions, trucking, motorcycle, slip and fall, dog bites)
2. Work Injuries
3. Traffic tickets and DUI/DWI

If you know someone that meets these criteria, please have them call our office.  If someone does not quite fit the above criteria, please still have the prospective referral give us a call as we can usually help the person find the right attorney via a referral.

Thank you very much to everyone who already left a review, we appreciate it!  If you have not left one and have some kind words, we would appreciate the time.